Dec. 13, 2012

Cover of the program from the Celebration of Life for Elizabeth Collins held on Thursday night Dec. 13th, 2012. The service was held at the Heartland Vineyard Church in Cedar Falls. / Bill Neibergall/The Register

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CEDAR FALLS, Ia. -- That’s how Heather Collins described the service for her daughter Elizabeth, who with her cousin Lyric Cook-Morrissey disappeared on July 13 after they went on a bike ride. The bodies of the girls — Lyric was 10 and Elizabeth 8 — were found last week in a secluded area of a Bremer County park.

Heartland Vineyard Church Associate Pastor Reggie Hovenga welcomed the 1,500 guests to the service, and Associate Pastor Chris Reeves led them in a prayer before an address by Heather Collins, Elizabeth’s mother.

Then the church’s nine-piece band performed some of Elizabeth’s favorite worship songs to a packed auditorium of mourners. The guests stood and swayed, some with arms around others’ waists, some with hands raised in the air. Some clapped as the band performed a half-hour set of Christian praise songs.

The set opened with “Every Move I Make in You Jesus,” about which Heather Collins said, “It’s not your typical funeral song. But this isn’t a funeral, it’s a celebration.”

The next song, “Happy Day,” opened with the line, “The greatest day in history; death is beaten.”

Reeves told of his experience upon learning of Elizabeth’s death. Elizabeth’s younger sister, Callie, 4, approached the pastor. “She came into my arms and said, ‘Elizabeth’s gone.’ Then she said this: ‘She’s with Jesus, she’s in heaven,’” recalled Reeves. “And right there in that sorrow, I knew that there was hope.”

In his final prayer, Reeves thanked Jesus for bringing Elizabeth home.

Prayer was a constant source of support for Heather and Drew Collins throughout the five months since Elizabeth’s disappearance. Since the day she found out her daughter and niece were missing, Heather Collins said she recited Isaiah 40:21-31 daily: “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.”

She said she also took comfort in Isaiah 41:10, which affirms God’s presence in difficult times. “You sometimes feel like God is not with you when you go through all this, but he is,” Heather Collins said. “He’s by your side.”

It can be hard to accept, Heather Collins said, but “you guys have just got to realize that she is in a better place.”

Adorning the stage in the church’s worship area were several Christmas trees and large bouquets, an angel doll whose head moved to the music and a large photograph of Elizabeth. At the foot of the stage, a cage held two white doves.

Heather Collins said her daughter loved to travel, and especially loved to shop. “We had to find a mall in every state, because she needed new clothes and shoes. And so did I, too.”

Reeves, the pastor, said Elizabeth loved animals, smiling, joking, getting dressed up, and wearing fun and bright colors. He called her sassy, and choked up when retelling a teacher’s story about Elizabeth’s love for her parents.

Another story recounted by Reeves was bittersweet. “Just like any other 8-year-old girl,” he said, “she liked to ride her bike.”